Sailing wing

Abstract

Technologies are described herein for sailing wing for a vehicle such as a sailboat. As described herein, a sailing wing includes a main sail and a control surface. The control surface is rotatable around a hinge. When deflected, the control surface using force imparted on the control surface by the wind causes the main sail to rotate about a pivot axis, creating thrust.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A sailing wing for a vehicle, comprising:
 a main sail extended upwards freely rotatable about a pivot axis; 
 a control surface rotatable affixed to a rear portion of the main sail, the control surface rotatable about a hinge to cause a deflection of the main sail about the pivot axis; 
 a second control surface rotatably affixed to the rear portion of the main sail, the second control surface rotatable about a second hinge to modify the deflection of the main sail caused by the control surface; 
 a controller to modify a position of the control surface; and 
 a second controller to modify a position of the second control surface, wherein the position of the control surface and the position of the second control surface are individually controllable with respect to each other. 
 
     
     
       2. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the main sail comprises a first segment proximate to a second segment, wherein the first segment and the second segment are individually rotatable about the pivot axis running through the sailing wing. 
     
     
       3. The sailing wing of  claim 2 , wherein the first segment comprises the first control surface and the second control surface and the second segment comprises a third control surface and a fourth control surface. 
     
     
       4. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein an aerodynamic center of the main sail is located aft of the pivot axis. 
     
     
       5. The sailing wing of  claim 4 , wherein a quarter chord of the mean aerodynamic chord of the main sail is located approximately one percent to seven percent of a mean aerodynamic chord length aft of the pivot axis. 
     
     
       6. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the sailing wing is statically mass-balanced about the pivot axis. 
     
     
       7. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the sailing wing is dynamically mass-balanced about the pivot axis with respect to heel and pitch rotation. 
     
     
       8. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , further comprising a leading edge control surface separately rotatable from the main sail and rotatable around a leading edge hinge. 
     
     
       9. The sailing wing of  claim 8 , wherein the leading edge control surface is individually controllable in relation to the control surface. 
     
     
       10. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the pivot axis and the sailing wing are swept aft. 
     
     
       11. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the sailing wing is swept aft and the pivot axis is vertical from the vehicle. 
     
     
       12. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein a part of the sailing wing is swept aft and a part of the sailing wing is unswept, and wherein the pivot axis is vertical from the vehicle. 
     
     
       13. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the sailing wing and the pivot axis are swept forward. 
     
     
       14. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the sailing wing is a crescent shape, where at least an upper portion and a lower portion of the sailing wing is swept aft and a middle portion is unswept, and wherein the pivot axis is vertical from the vehicle. 
     
     
       15. The sailing wing of  claim 1 , wherein the main sail is cantable around an axis that runs through the vehicle. 
     
     
       16. The sailing wing of  claim 15 , wherein the main sail is cantable up to 90 degrees for an upright position or parallel to a water plane. 
     
     
       17. The sailing wing of  claim 15 , further comprising a second sail that is cantable about the axis that runs through the vehicle. 
     
     
       18. A method of operating a sailboat to adjust for wind angle, comprising the steps of:
 providing: 
 a main sail extended upwards freely rotatable about a pivot axis; 
 a first control surface rotatably affixed to a rear portion of the main sail, the first control surface rotatable about a hinge to cause a deflection of the main sail about the pivot axis; 
 a second control surface affixed to a rear portion of the main sail, the second control surface rotatable about a second hinge to modify the deflection of the main sail caused by the control surface; and 
 and a controller to individually modify a position of the first control surface and a position of the second control surface; and 
 individually deflecting the first control surface and second control surface to increase or decrease a thrust of the sailboat.